It Follows

Synopsis

For nineteen-year-old Jay, Autumn should be about school, boys and week-ends out at the lake. But after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter, she finds herself plagued by strange visions and the inescapable sense that someone, something, is following her. Faced with this burden, Jay and her friends must find a way to escape the horrors, that seem to be only a few steps behind.

For nineteen-year-old Jay, Autumn should be about school, boys and week-ends out at the lake. But after a seemingly innocent sexual encounter, she finds herself plagued by strange visions and the inescapable sense that someone, something, is following her. Faced with this burden, Jay and her friends must find a way to escape the horrors, that seem to be only a few steps behind.

Movie Reviews

Scary and disturbing

'It follows', a Dave Mitchell feature presented at Cannes, is a truly
disturbing movie that starts from a very simple premise.

Teenager Jay lives in a nameless Midwest town, and one day someone
'passes' 'it' to her. And then the following begins...

The very first scene caught me completely by surprise on how disturbing
it was, and sets the bar high on this movie, showing that the director
has no remorse in punching below the belt - and you will thank him for
that by the time credits roll.

The movie makes an incredibly savvy use of sound, which is almost a
character on its own, as well as the desolate settings shot in Detroit.

Actors give an understated performance that is even stronger, given how
horrific is everything that is going on. And the followers... when I
got home I had to make sure that there were at least two doors open in
my room!

Make yourself a favor and go and see this, it is a fantastic summer
scare.

Reviewed by pedroluq 8 / 10

What a great idea!

Over 300 reviews, high score and meta-score in a 2 million budget film,
that alone should make you watch it. This movie shows a great idea,
very simple and elegant, for a horror movie, of course. And it's all
around good, well played, good sound effects, more suspense, less gore,
it has all the elements you expect in a horror movie, and at the same
time it is not cliché. The real highlight here is the director, this
movie is exceptionally well directed, I mean frames and shot
composition makes the movie jump from the screen. If you like horror
and not gore movies, watch it. Yes, the movie is a bit slow at first,
but it didn't bored me at all.

Reviewed by Greg (<a class= 8 / 10

Unique

Unique. That is the word that first comes to mind after a screening of
David Robert Mitchell's It Follows which has now shown twice to
accepting audiences at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.
It Follows is the story about a sexually transmitted haunting. Let me
repeat that sentence so that in sinks in a little bit. It Follows is
the story about a sexually transmitted haunting. The haunting is all
too real for teenager Jay (Maika Monroe). After a brief sexual
encounter with a new boyfriend, Jay is haunted by ghosts that only she
can see. Their intentions are not clear, but an opening scene of a
disfigured young girl on the beach reveals to the audience that the
ghosts are violently inclined.
The carrier that inflicted Jay with the haunting reveals to her and her
inner circle that the ghosts will be relentless until they kill Jay. He
goes on to disclose that the ghosts can only walk to their prey. So if
you can run, drive or speed away from them it might buy you minutes,
hours or even days until they catch up. The only way to pass on the
haunting is to have sex with another and this knowledge torments Jay
while intriguing the two male suitors that are part of her friendship
ring.
Whether Jay can pass on the hauntings enough so that she herself is
safe and whether her friends will play a part in her survival is the
crux of the film that hearkens back to the glory years of horror where
blood and guts were not paraded out in gore porn glory.
Director David Robert Mitchell confidently maintains the integrity of
the story without the lure of upping the body count for the purpose of
appeasing a microwave horror generation that wants its blood and wants
it thick.
In fact, the body count is so low in It Follows that a leper can count
them on one hand. This lack of blood and guts however only adds to the
atmosphere that is thick and complimented by one of the best musical
scores for a horror film that we have relished since the early John
Carpenter years.
The idea is truly original and its execution is brilliant in its
simplicity. An experiment which attempts to destroy the ghost reminded
us slightly of 1981's The Entity (in which Barbara Hershey was raped by
a sexually abusive spirit) but It Follows maintains its originality to
the end.
In a Hollywood world where horror films are stereotypically deformed
serial killers who randomly kill high school students on the brink of
sexual revelation, It Follows is a breath of fresh air that is worthy
of a high recommendation. Unique indeed.